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Results tagged ‘ Guillermo Moscoso ’

The Rockies are pursuing left-handed pitcher Jeff Francis, their ace during their National League championship season of 2007.

“We are interested; I have no idea of the outcome of that interest,” Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd said Monday morning.

Francis, 31, was pitching for the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate in Louisville, and was 3-6 with a 3.72 ERA in 77 1/3 innings over 12 starts. Francis, who struck out 65 against 18 walks, had a June 1 opt-out clause in his Minor League contract. After throwing a complete-game shutout on Sunday, 7-0 over Durham, Francis asked for his release, according to a Twitter dispatch by ESPN.com reporter Jerry Crasnick.

The Rockies made Francis their No. 1 Draft choice out of the University of British Columbia in 2002, and he went 55-50 with them in six Major League season. The highlight was 2007,when he went 17-9 with a 4.22 ERA. However his career was derailed by shoulder issues, which cost him the entire 2009 season and limited him to 4-6 with a 5.00 ERA in 20 games, all but one of them starts, in 2010.

The Rockies did not pick up the option on Francis’ contract, and he went 6-16 with a 4.82 ERA in 31 starts for the Royals last season.

Francis has maintained a home in the Denver area.

Injuries are affecting the Rockies’ rotation. Righty Jhoulys Chacin has not pitched since May 1 because of an injury to a chest muscle, and didn’t do any throwing until Saturday. Righty Juan Nicasio suffered a strained right knee on Saturday and is on the 15-day disabled list. Also, the club released lefty Jamie Moyer last week.<p/>

The Rockies are stretching out left-hander Josh Outman, who began the year mostly in a specialist relief role, for one spot. They called up right-hander Guillermo Moscoso from Triple-A Colorado Springs on Sunday for another slot.

DENVER – The Colorado Rockies announced today that the club has optioned right-handed pitcher Guillermo Moscoso to Triple-A Colorado Springs. The Rockies have also placed outfielder Eric Young Jr. on the bereavement list today. To replace Moscoso and Young on the active roster, Colorado has recalled right-handed pitcher Adam Ottavino and infielder/catcher Jordan Pacheco from Triple-A Colorado Springs. Both Ottavino (#37) and Pacheco (#22) will be in uniform and available for today’s Rockies vs. Braves game at Coors Field (6:10 p.m. MDT).

Ottavino, 26, was claimed off waivers by Colorado from St. Louis on April 3rd and immediately optioned to Triple-A Colorado Springs. The right-hander has appeared in 10 games, all in relief, for the Sky Sox this season. He has no record with a 3.60 ERA (15.0 ip, 6 er), 7 walks and 20 strikeouts in his 10 games. Ottavino made his Major League debut with St. Louis last season, where he went 0-2 with an 8.46 ERA (22.1 ip, 21 er), 9 walks and 12 strikeouts in five games/three starts. He was originally selected in the first round (30th overall) of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft out of Northeastern University by the Cardinals. The New York native was strictly a starter in the Cardinals organization, but was moved to the bullpen once he joined the Rockies organization in April.

Pacheco, 26, was a member of the Rockies Opening Day roster in 2012 before being optioned to Triple-A on April 15th. In five games for the Rockies in 2012 Pacheco has hit .200 (2-for-10) with one triple and one run scored. Pacheco has batted .433 (29-for-67) with 4 doubles, 3 home runs and 10 RBI in 17 games for the Sky Sox this season. The Albuquerque native made his Major League debut in September, 2011 and hit .286 (24-for-84) with one double, 2 home runs and 14 RBI in 21 games for the Rockies.

Moscoso, 28, was recalled from Triple-A Colorado Springs on April 28th to take the roster spot of Jeremy Guthrie (15-day DL with right shoulder sprain). Moscoso made two starts for the Rockies, going 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA (9.1 ip, 12 er), 4 walks and 10 strikeouts. The right-hander began the season at Triple-A, where he went 1-3 with a 7.91 ERA (19.1 ip, 17 er), 4 walks and 19 strikeouts in 4 starts. Moscoso was acquired by Colorado along with left-handed pitcher Josh Outman from Oakland on January 16th in exchange for Seth Smith.

Young, 26, made his first Opening Day roster in 2012 and has hit .286 (6-for-21) with one double, one triple, 2 RBI, 9 runs scored and 4 stolen bases in 21 games this season. 2012 marks the fourth-straight season that Young has appeared in the Major Leagues with Colorado. He owns a .248 (111-for-448) career batting average with 11 doubles, 5 triples, 1 home run, 21 RBI, 76 runs scored and 52 stolen bases in 179 career Major League games. Young will not be eligible to come off the bereavement list until Tuesday. Young cannot miss more than seven games while on the bereavement list.

This has been a beautiful day in Denver. The temperature on the Coors Field scoreboard reads 86, the breeze is gentle.

But forgive Braves pitcher Tim Hudson if he thinks he has just arrived at prison and the Rockies’ Todd Helton is the warden.

Hudson is 0-2 with a 7.77 ERA in four career starts at Coors. And Helton is 9-for-1o against Hudson at his home.

What’s funny is the numbers are the total opposite at Turner Field, where Helton is 4-0 with a 1.84 ERA in four career starts against the Rockies, and has held Helton to 1-for-5.

The Rockies have brought up onetime White Sox right-hander Carlos Torres, who went 2-1 with a 2.88 ERA in five starts at Triple-A Colorado Springs. Torres, 29, will be used as a long man in the bullpen. Depending on how he’s used the next couple of days, he could be called upon to start Tuesday against the Padres if right-hander Jeremy Guthrie is not ready to return from a recent shoulder injury.

Guthrie, by the way, threw a touch-and-feel bullpen session today and will face hitters at Coors before Saturday night’s game with the Braves.

Braves veteran Chipper Jones announced this spring that this would be his final season. He’s going out with a blast. The Braves have gone 11-2 with him in the starting lineup and Jones has had at least one hit in eight of those 13 starts. He’s hitting second for the Braves tonight.

As Mark Bowman of MLB.com notes, Jones batted just .191 with a home run and a .623 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage) in his first 11 regular season games at Coors Field. Since then, however, Jones has batted .356 with 11 home runs and a 1.104 OPS in his past 46 road games against the Rockies. No wonder he has shaken off a sore left knee to be in the lineup tonight.

Rockies center fielder Dexter Fowler grew up in the Atlanta area, and the stats suggest he still loves the Braves. Fowler has batted .306 in 20 career games against the Braves. Helton (.332), the sizzling Carlos Gonzalez (.318) and shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (.311) also are better than .300 against the Braves.

Now he is looking at Fowler’s .114 batting average through his first 14 Cactus League games and wondering if there is a connection.

“He lifted a lot this offseason, got a lot stronger, so he’s trying to hit the ball farther, which is a huge mistake for him,” Lansford said Tuesday morning. “I don’t mind him lifting. I just don’t want him changing mechanics from what he did the second half of last season.”

Fowler added a leg kick to his swing in the middle of last season, during a demotion to Triple-A Colorado Springs. He returned with improved timing and put up strong second half numbers. But Lansford and manager Jim Tracy have noticed that the kick wasn’t the same. Corrections are being made in hopes of avoiding a slow start, something Fowler has suffered through the last two years.

“He was picking [his foot] up too far, and his hands were not in the right spot, either,” Lansford said. “He’s going back to where he feels comfortable with his hands. He’s actually starting to swing the bat better. We’ve got nine days left. It would be the perfect time to get right, going into the season.

Fowler had another rough day at the plate Monday against the Angels, but Tracy said his swing was bettr and he hasn’t carried his offensive struggles to the field.

Usually the leadoff hitter, or No. 2 hitter on days Tracy experiements with Marco Scutaro in the top spot, Fowler hit eighth Tuesday afternoon against the D-backs. Eric Young Jr. batted leadoff and started in left. Jonathan Herrera, fighting the numbers game for an Opening Day roster spot, is hitting second and Scutaro is batting third.

ROCKIES LINEUP

Eric Young Jr., LF

Jonathan Herrera, SS

Marco Scutaro, 2B

Ramon Hernandez, C

Todd Helton, 1B

Jordan Pacheco, 3B

Tyler Colvin, RF

Dexter Fowler, CF

Jeremy Guthrie, RHP

ROCKIES RELIEF PITCHING

Rex Brothers, LHP

Josh Roenicke, RHP

Rafael Betancourt, RHP

Keith Weiser, LHP

Zach Simons, RHP

D-BACKS LINEUP

Gerardo Parra, LF

Aaron Hill, 2B

Justin Upton, RF

Lyle Overbay, 1B

Ryan Roberts, 2B

Henry Blanco, C

John McDonald, SS

Patrick Corbin, LHP

D-BACKS RELIEF PITCHING

Craig Breslow, LHP

Joe Paterson, RHP

Bryan Shaw, RHP

Mike Zagurski, LHP

Brad Ziegler, RHP

Also, the Rockies are using right-handed pitcher Guillermo Moscoso in a Minor League game.

The Rockies and Padres are gearing up for a Spring Training exhibition at Kino Stadium in Tucson, Ariz. — the place known as Tucson Electric Park back when the Rockies played there. This is the game that was called off because of bad weather a few days ago. This is big for Tucson, which lost all of its teams a couple of years ago. The fans should have a chance to see many members of the Triple-A Tucson Padres.

It’s even bigger for Rockies right-hander Guillermo Moscoso, who is fighting for a spot on the Rockies’ pitching staff and trending upward.

Moscoso, 28, obtained along with lefty Josh Outman from the Athletics for outfielder Seth Smith during the offseason, struggled in his frist two Cactus League appearances. He gave up four runs on five hits and two walks against the Cubs in his first appearance, and one run but four hits and a walk against the White Sox the next time he pitched. Granted, he was more concerned with putting pitches over the plate than anything else, but trying to make the team and possibly the starting rotation calls for more than that.

But Moscoso delievered in his last outing, throwing three scoreless innings against the Reds, striking out three and holding them to one hit and no walks. It looks as if rotation spots will go to Jeremy Guthrie, Jhoulys Chacin, Drew Pomeranz and, it seems likely, Juan Nicasio, who is making a dramatic return from a broken neck. Moscoso appears to be battling power pitcher Tyler Chatwood and 49-year-old lefty Jamie Moyer. A righty, Alex White, is in the mix; White will pitch in Tucson today. Outman was affected by the weather earlier in he week and needs to rebuild his stamina, so he might be more in line for a bullpen job.

Moscoso can work out of the rotation and the bullpen. If he continues to gain steam, he gives the Rockies a versatile arm.

Here is the lineup for the Rockies today in Tucson:

Eric Young Jr., CF

Jonathan Herrera, SS

Jordan Pacheco, C

Chad Tracy, 1B

Tyler Colvin, RF

Chris Nelson, 3B

Charlie Blackmon, LF

DJ LeMahieu, 2B

Guillermo Moscoso, RHP

Don’f forget, the Rockies will face the Giants at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick tonight, with Moyer pitching. Guthrie will pitch in a nighttime Minor League game at the complex.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Rockies right-hander Juan Nicasio, coming back from a broken neck that he suffered last year, gets his first Cactus League outing today against the Athletics at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. Nicasio threw two impressive innings in an intrasquad game on Sunday. Listen free to an exclusive webcast.

Nicasio has insisted all along he has no fear of balls coming back to him. He suffered the frightening injury last Aug. 5, when a line drive from the Nationals’ Ian Desmond struck him in the temple.

Interestingly, the Athletics have agreed to forego the designated hitter, so Nicasio will also have to bat.

For the second time this spring, the Rockies are starting Charlie Blackmon in the leadoff spot. Blackmon, batting for the fourth outfield spot, homered off the Giants’ Tim Lincecum on Wednesday. Also, catching prospect Wilin Rosario will start.

The Athletics are not bringing former Rockies outfielder Seth Smith, who was sent to Oakland during the offseason for pitchers Guillermo Moscoso and Josh Outman.

Rockies veteran third baseman Casey Blake will play for the first time since last Aug. 31, before his season with the Dodgers ended because of neck surgery.

Right-hander Guillermo Moscoso will start. Moscoso went 8-10 with a 3.28 ERA in 23 games, including 21 starts, for the Athletics last year. Moscoso, 28, actually made his first appearance in a Rockies uniform Friday in an intrqasquad game, when he gave up one run and two hits, with one strikeout, in two innings.

The Rockies also are starting Tyler Colvin in left field. The Rockies acquired Colvin and infielder DJ LeMaheiu, who is listed as a reserve today, from the Cubs for third baseman Ian Stewart and right-handed pitcher Casey Weathers. Stewart, a regular with the Rockies until he descended into a slump last season, will start for the Cubs.

White is a candidate for the roation, along with Moscoso. White gave up one run on two hits, with a walk and a strikeout, in two innings of Friday’s intrasquad game. He was arrested Saturday night and, according to the Denver Post, could be charged with “extreme DUI.” The Rockies did not discipline White further. White, who came from the Indians in the Ubaldo Jimenez trade but was pitching through an injury during his brief trial (2-4, 8.42 ERA in seven starts) showed life on his sinker during the intrasquad game.

Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who was scratched from the lineup before Monday’s game against the D-backs because of illness, reported feeling better Tuesday. Outfielder Tim Wheeler, also sent home Monday, is listed as a reserve today. There was no plan to play first baseman Todd Helton today. Helton also was sent home because of the illness Monday but was at the clubhouse Tuesday.

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